The Philippines ETF does not have the same problems that other emerging countries are grappling with. On Thursday, the country-specific exchange traded fund roared back after reports of robust economic data for the second quarter.
The iShares MSCI Philippines ETF (NYSEArca: EPHE) rose 4.6% Thursday. EPHE is still down 14.2% year-to-date.
Unlike its neighboring countries, the Philippines does not have a current-account deficit, writes Victor Reklaitis for MarketWatch. Developing markets took the brunt of the damage after investors dumped emerging markets with quickly depreciating currencies.
“A current account surplus, a high level of foreign exchange reserves and low foreign currency debt means the Philippines is in a good position to cope with the turnaround in investor sentiment,” according to a Capital Economics research note.
Moreover, the Philippines is less exposed to China’s economic slowdown.
The Philippine government announced that the economy expanded a higher-than-expected 7.5% in the second quarter of 2013, the fourth consecutive quarter of growth higher than 7%, reports Amrutha Gayathri for International Business Times.
“We remain the fastest growing economy among emerging economies in the ASEAN region,” Arsenio Balisacan, the Philippine Socioeconomic Planning Secretary, said , according to Philippines’ Business World website. “The 7.5% growth, which is the same as China’s, surpassed Indonesia’s 5.8%, Vietnam’s 5%, Malaysia’s 4.3%, Singapore’s 3.8%, and Thailand’s 2.8%.”
Bolstering the economy, domestic demand and government spending was still high, and the Philippine market saw increased investments in fixed assets.